“Not infrequently in Obama’s America, the conservative movement seems so on point, so focused on battling the federal government at home, so close to adopting Jeffersonianism or even Misesian radicalism, that we who love liberty are almost tempted to root for them and not just against our common enemy, the statist progressive left. But then, like clockwork, practically the entire rightwing is whipped back into a frenzy of bloodthirstiness, intolerance, and belligerent nationalist collectivism. Whether it’s illegal immigrants or Muslims, such scapegoats serve to distract conservatives from their supposed goal of shrinking the state. And the distraction is not a minor matter — it speaks directly to what modern conservatism is still all about.” (09/02/10)